SACRAMENTO >> California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, accused by seven women of groping or other unwanted advances, is leaving office immediately, he announced Monday.
The San Fernando County Democrat is the first politician to be pushed out of office amid a movement to stamp out sexual harassment in the state Capitol — and on the eve of the first public hearing to examine the Assembly’s handling of such complaints. Last week, shortly before the Los Angeles Times published accounts from six women who said Bocanegra had sexually assaulted or harassed them since 2009 — when he was secretly disciplined for an incident involving another staffer — the lawmaker said he would not run for re-election next year. But he faced mounting calls for his immediate resignation.
But Bocanegra did not acknowledge wrongdoing in his statement on Facebook, only conceding that he was “admittedly not perfect.” Rather, he suggested he was the victim of “political opportunism.”
“I believed in our system of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and that the truth would come out clearing my name and reputation,” he said. “But clearly, the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ has been temporarily lost in a hurricane of political opportunism among the self-righteous in my case — to the detriment of both the accuser and the accused.”
He added: “Furthermore, it is my hope that in taking this action we can help clear the path so that women and men who have been truly victims of sexual assault and workplace harassment can step forward and get justice for any crimes committed against them. While I am not guilty of any such crimes, I am admittedly not perfect.
“I sincerely hope that my decision to resign immediately does not embolden those who are using this serious problem in our society to advance their own personal political gain, rather it is my hope that this action can instead help to widen the doors for victims of sexual assault and workplace harassment to find justice and solace.”
Inspired by women in Hollywood who had gone public with accusations against powerful film producer Harvey Weinstein, a group of lobbyists, staffers and other women working in California politics last month launched a campaign, “We Said Enough” to demand a stop to a culture that, they say, perpetuates the mistreatment of women. A similar wave of activism has cropped up in other statehouses — and in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken gave a brief statement to reporters a week after being accused by numerous women of sexually inappropriate behavior. Franken said he will cooperate with a Senate Ethics Committee investigation, but he has not signaled he plans to resign.
“I’ve been trying to take responsibility by apologizing. And by apologizing to the people I’ve let down. And I’m going to work to regain their trust. I am going to be accountable,” he said.
Franken said, “I know I let a lot of people down. … Everyone counted on me to be a champion for women.”
We Said Enough campaign organizers said Monday that the Bocanegra resignation underscores the need for what the movement has demanded for weeks: a victims’ hotline, confidential crisis counseling services, independent investigations, whistleblower protections and anti-retaliation laws.
“Unfortunately, eliminating one or two bad actors does not change the environment,” they said in a joint statement. “We need systemic change.”
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-South Gate, issued a statement Monday saying that Bocanegra’s resignation “underscores the seriousness of the allegations against him.”
“One resignation, however, does not solve the problem,” Rendon said. “With the hearings beginning tomorrow under the leadership of Assemblymember Laura Friedman, and with the ongoing guidance of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the Assembly will keep working to change the climate in the Capitol to stop sexual harassment and abuse.”
